Meyer on Morris Link
Moon Township, Pa. - The top seed's opening statement was top shelf.
We're not really referencing here the totality of Robert Morris University's 75-57 march past St. Francis Brooklyn Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the Northeast Conference Tournament.
We're focusing on how the Colonials played in the first four minutes of their first postseason game in 2013.
"We knew they were going to come (out) on all cylinders,'' St. Francis Brooklyn coach Glenn Braica said. "And they did.''
And how!
Nineteen seconds after the opening tip at the Charles L. Sewall Center, Russell Johnson made a three-pointer. Then Johnson made a jump shot. Coron Williams took an offensive rebound and turned it into a trey. Lucky Jones sank a three, then followed that with a lay-up. Johnson made a lay-up. Finally, Johnson snagged the rebound off his own missed shot and hit yet another trey.
The teams had played 241 seconds. The Colonials led, 18-6.
"You always want to get off to a great start,'' RMU coach Andrew Toole said. "You always want to make sure you're locked in to begin the game. It's a great advantage when you can build that kind of lead to start the game. Our starting group really got us going with great energy on both ends of the floor.''
"The last few days, coach Toole talked about in the playoffs it's about who plays the hardest and who brings the most energy,'' Johnson said. "The way we came out shows we were ready to win this game.''
Johnson scored 10 points in that opening run-out. Velton Jones had four assists.
"My teammates were making open shots, and I was just getting my teammates involved,'' Velton Jones said. "It's not all about scoring. I was just trying to do whatever I could for the team, and that was dishing it out. We just came out with incredible energy, and I don't think (the Terriers) could recover from our energy if we kept it up. That's what we tried to talk about in huddles and during timeouts - just keep going, not give up the lead, just keep playing hard and giving energy. We knew they probably wouldn't recover from that.''
The eighth-seeded Terriers didn't.
Oh, they did cut the Colonial lead to four points, 20-16, with 11:37 left in the first half. However, Robert Morris quickly regained a double-digit advantage, relegating the Terriers to an unsuccessful uphill struggle the rest of the way.
"They got separation on us,'' Braica said. "We thought if we could get (our deficit) down to four points, that would put pressure on them, being a No. 1 seed.''
The Colonials didn't show they felt any pressure. They shrugged off the Terriers' full-court press. They continued to drain threes. They led, 56-33, with 12:10 left.
Then they applied the finish.
St. Francis Brooklyn trailed, 62-43, with seven minutes remaining. However, Karvel Anderson ended any possible comeback hope the Terriers had by scoring eight consecutive RMU points in 110 seconds. Twice in that blitz, Anderson scored after grabbing offensive rebounds.
"We kind of felt like they were dying down a little bit before that,'' Anderson said. "I had the chance to put the nail in the coffin, so we took advantage of it. We didn't want to let them get going because they can get going and come back at any time and we didn't want to take that chance, so we stepped on their throats and figured we'd end the game that way.''
Anderson, sore right wrist and all, finished with a game-high 20 points in 23 minutes off the bench.
"He's a guy who can make shots in a hurry,'' Toole said. "He's a really efficient player. He doesn't need a whole lot of looks to get his game on track. He's a great weapon for us. He'd start on most teams, including ours if the situation wasn't what it is right now. That's a credit to him that he understands that. He comes to practice every day with the right mentality. He comes into the game with the right mentality. He plays starter minutes. He's a terrific addition to our team this year, both on and off the floor.''
Anderson was 4-of-8 from deep Thursday night, helping the Colonials make 11-of-31 from beyond the arc.
"They weren't really getting out on us, and we have some good shooters,'' Velton Jones said.
"We have a lot of people who have the ability to make shots,'' Anderson said. "We had the opportunity to make them. We stepped up and took them. Make or miss, we have confidence every time we shoot. It was there, so we took it.''
In their past five games, the Colonials have launched a total of 150 shots from international waters.
"We keep shooting tons of threes, but it's not necessarily what we're looking to do,'' Toole said. "It's just what's there. They zoned us a ton again (Thursday night). We were playing inside-out. We were getting good looks. We had good shooters stepping into threes. And we had really good ball movement when they went man. (Point guards) Velton and (Anthony Myers-Pate) were doing a really good job penetrating and getting into the lane and finding guys, whether it was in set offense or in transition. And so, again, it just seemed to be what the defense gave us.''
Perhaps the Terriers felt they could give Robert Morris three-point attempts because they led the league in defending the trey during the NEC regular season. St. Francis Brooklyn allowed opponents to shoot just 29.9 percent from beyond the arc.
"We probably gave them confidence by not guarding a couple times in transition and giving them open looks to get going,'' Braica said. "They have some guys who can shoot the ball.''
In the teams' only meeting in the regular season Jan. 31 in Brooklyn, the Colonials were only 6-of-21 from deep in a 71-61 loss to the Terriers.
"We knew that it was going to be a different game (Thursday night),'' Lucky Jones said. "We didn't come into the game in January with the best intentions. We grew from that loss. We just tried to come in here and take care of business.''
In that game in Brooklyn, N.Y., Velton Jones hurt his shoulder and didn't play after the first two minutes.
"We really had choppy offense,'' Toole said of that first game. "They did a good job of not allowing us to get penetration. We were struggling to complete passes, getting ball reversal, changing the sides of the floor. (Thursday night), we had much better ball movement, much better player movement. Right from the first get-go, we had guys who were cutting in and out of that lane and being able to kick for shots.''
Velton Jones was of particular benefit in that regard. He had a game-high eight assists.
"Russell, Karvel, Lucky - they were on,'' Jones said. "I just had to find them.''
"He's progressed as a player,'' Braica said of Jones. "He's really become a classy point guard. He scores less, but he's in control of the game. He's become a true point guard. He's become a much better player.''
The victory sends the Colonials (23-9) to the NEC semifinals against Mount St. Mary's Saturday at 2:30 at the Sewall Center. Robert Morris, which has won six consecutive games, certainly would like to play again in front of a home crowd like Thursday night's noisy and supportive gathering of 1,788.
"We've been saying all year that we think this is a team that deserves the support of the student body and the local area, and I was glad that they came out and were vocal,'' Toole said. "They were there early, and I think they gave us energy and helped us out a lot.''
"It helps to have the support of your classmates and the student body,'' Anderson said. "We definitely feed off that. It's like having an extra sixth man on the floor with us. Energy (such as that) is always hard for the opposing team, so it's a good thing when our fans come out like that. When we get a crowd like that, we always want to make sure it's worth their while.''
The Colonials certainly did that Thursday night - beginning 19 seconds after the opening tip.
"Robert Morris is playing great,'' Braica said. "Personally, I think they'll win the league. They have a lot of answers. I don't see a lot of weaknesses in their team.''
UP NEXT: Fifth-seeded Mount St. Mary's (17-13) came from behind and won its quarterfinal game at Bryant, 75-69, overcoming not only the Bulldogs but also a vociferous capacity crowd of 2,680. Mountaineer coach Jamion Christian, a former Virginia Commonwealth assistant coach, called it "a March Madness type of setting.''
The Mountaineers made only one field goal in the final 11 minutes of the first half and trailed, 35-28, at the break.
However, Rashad Whack scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half and Mount St. Mary's went 26-of- 27 from the free throw line to secure its eighth straight win.
The loss took some of the luster off Bryant's 19-11 season. The Bulldogs, who were 2-28 last season, were eligible for the NEC Tournament for the first time after completing the transition from Division II to Division I.
"Right now, it's a surreal feeling,'' sophomore guard Dyami Starks told the Providence Journal. "It hasn't set in and won't for a while. My pain is centered on our seniors. This year was an uphill battle, and for it to end on our home court is what's on my mind. These seniors have put so much into this program.''
TOURNEY TIDBITS: Third-seeded LIU Brooklyn, which won the previous two NEC championships, had to come from behind at home to eliminate sixth-seeded Quinnipiac, 91-83, in a foul fest. The teams were called for 53 fouls, including 31 by Quinnipiac. The Bobcats were 21-for-31 from the chalk, while LIU Brooklyn made 29-of-40 free throw attempts. Ousmane Drame led Quinnipiac with 23 points. C.J. Garner scored 30 points for the Blackbirds, who received 20 points from Jamal Olasewere and 10 points (and seven assists) from point guard Jason Brickman ... LIU Brooklyn will play at second-seeded Wagner Saturday in the other NEC semifinal game. The Seahawks beat seventh-seeded Central Connecticut State, 72-50. Jonathan Williams' 20 points led Wagner. Marcus Burton added 15, and guard Latif Rivers, who didn't play in the final two regular season games because of a sore ankle, had 10 points. CCSU stars Kyle Vinales (23 points) and Matt Hunter (eight) were a combined 10-for-35 from the field, including 4-of-17 from deep. The Blue Devils shot only 25.4 percent from the floor and were out-rebounded, 55-41. Here's CCSU coach Howie Dickenman's summation, as reported in the Staten Island Advance: "The highlight of the night for us was when the final horn went off.''
